Donna Diane

Imagine that you’re suffocating from poisonous gas being pumped into the chamber you’re locked in.  You hear explosions and feel concussions all around. You feel helpless as you are thrust down toward a watery grave. Fear is gripping you, and thinking about a terrifying death is pushing you toward madness. Will you drown or pass out from a lack of oxygen?

War Beneath the Waves by Don Keith is not a Hollywood movie or a fictional horror novel, it’s the true story of the submarine the USS Billfish and the men who served aboard her during World War II. They lived and fought in horrible conditions so they could defend America by hunting the enemy in stealth.

Some of our submerged predators were commanded by men whose lack of fortitude put our sailor’s lives at risk, and some had cunning skippers who inspired valor in their crews and used their boats to deal punishing blows to the enemy. These commanders had to make up the rules as they went along because although submarines weren’t new, we had never used them in such a wartime manner and there was no previous experience for predicting the nature of enemy engagements. Dauntless skippers learned from their mistakes, if they lived through them, and then incorporated what was successful into their rule book.

This book is a great read for all and especially our military. The behavior of the officers described in this book must certainly be used as lessons for our current officer corps. Enemies change and evolve and only a military that is adaptable and sometimes daring can be prevail. This book will improve the crucible in which we test our military before they get to war, and the harder they are tested in training the less likely they are to fail in combat.

You will find this book to be an exciting page turner as well as educational!

The very real events of Islands of the Damned took place over sixty-five years ago yet it is a timely book relevant to today’s war. The chilling effects of hand to hand combat on the individual have not changed in millennia, and as we prosecute our global war on terror it would be wise for us to become aware of the exacting toll it takes on those who fight our wars. Islands of the Damned will charge you with the deeply emotional demands of men faced with killing the enemy in defense of our country.

You will come to understand why unnecessary battles end up being fought and the physical and mental tolls of such battles. From the joys of watching porpoises and flying fish frolic in the wake of the ships carrying our Marines to the war, to the heartbreak of friendly fire causalities, you will learn how ordinary men can step up and perform extraordinarily valiant acts or make tragic mistakes that have lifelong consequences.

Historically this is a different view of the battles of New Britain, Peleliu and Okinawa than the traditionally accepted texts. R.V. Burgin will broaden your mind of what happened during these world changing battles. As the ranks of our World War II veterans grow thinner by the day, these first-hand accounts of front line events become more precious.

Read Islands of the Damned and personally connect with the feelings and expectations of regular guys off the farms and streets who were forced into war to by an enemy who breached the rules of combat and employed terrorist tactics long before  September 11, 2001.